The International Trademark Association’s (INTA) annual meeting in 2020 will be hosted in Singapore (Credit: anyaberkut/Getty Images)
Singapore has been the chosen city that will host the International Trademark Association's (INTA) annual meeting in 2020, marking the first time the organisation is hosting the event in Southeast Asia.
INTA's 142nd Annual Meeting will be held at Marina Bay Sands from April 25-29, 2020, said INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo at the opening ceremonies of the Association's 140th Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington from May 20-23.
Present at this year's edition were nearly 11,000 trademark practitioners and other intellectual property (IP) professionals from more than 150 countries, with the event seeing an increasing number of registrants each year.
With Singapore hosting the 2020 edition, this will be the second time that INTA's annual meeting has travelled to Asia. Following the success of the first Asia meeting in Hong Kong in 2014, INTA's Board of Directors approved a rotation strategy to host the Annual Meeting in a location outside the United States every third year.
"Bringing the Association's Annual Meeting to Singapore in 2020 offers our global membership the opportunity to once again meet in an optimal location to learn, network, and discuss issues of interest to IP professionals, government officials, consumers, and society at large," said 2018 INTA President Tish Berard.
Singapore's vibrant environment, cultural diversity, ease of accessibility, and achievements in the field of IP were cited as key reasons contributing to the event win. INTA, which has a growing international membership now spanning 191 countries, opened an Asia-Pacific Representative Office in Singapore in March 2016.
"Singapore is a seminal location for the global trademark dialogue that will take place at INTA's Annual Meeting in 2020. We are extremely pleased to go there and view this as an opportunity to further interact with and serve members globally," said Acedo.
Jeannie Lim, executive director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board, added, "Our city serves as the ideal platform for this prestigious event. Here, delegates can learn, engage and discover new possibilities, and go on to enjoy the cuisine and experiences that our city has to offer outside of the event. We look forward to welcoming this event to Singapore in 2020."
Registration for the 2020 Annual Meeting in Singapore will open in January 2019, with pre-sale tickets available for purchase at INTA's 2019 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.